Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has appointed Roman Cabanac, a controversial podcaster and media activist to head his department. Cabanac is the new chief of staff.
His appointment comes amid backlash towards the Democratic Alliance (DA), whose controversial Ronaldo Gouws uttered hate speech and racist remarks some years ago, and was elected as an MP earlier this year.
This sparked outrage among many people, especially black people who then wanted Gouws to be removed as an MP.
Despite Gouws being investigated for his racial slurs against black people, he is still an MP and is now actively serving as the deputy spokesperson of two portfolios - Tourism and the Auditor General.
Despite returning to work in Parliament, Gouws remains suspended from DA party activities.
Steenhuisen personally approached Cabanac, who is well-known for his podcast Morning Shot and his unsuccessful 2019 campaign for the Capitalist Party of SA.
This is according to the City Press newspaper which reported that Cabanac had no problem with the appointment and was keen for his new role.
“I am very comfortable with the appointment because fortunately, there are not many woke people at the Department of Agriculture as we are here to work. I am, therefore, not bothered if the woke crowd is critical of my appointment,” Cabanac reportedly said.
Cabanac stated that he was approached because of his experience with large teams in the private sector and the non-profit sector.
He achieved prominence as the co-host of The Renegade Report, where he interviewed people with extreme opinions, causing controversy in Jewish communities.
He was criticised by many, including journalist Nechama Brodie for allowing racist and anti-Semitic remarks without challenge.
Defending his position, Cabanac argued that he took part in the debates but never sympathised with other panel members’ views.
In his now-deleted posts on X (formerly Twitter), Cabanac said “Water is not a human right” and another post said “Forgot to review my sniping course by the Jews!
1) Excellent instructors - difficult to hear what they say behind their beards but not too much of a hindrance.
2) All the targets were red
3) "Give me the land" was the signal to start shooting.
4) At only R50,000, bargain.”
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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